The top diplomats of South Korea and Russia have agreed to step up their diplomatic cooperation toward peacefully resolving North Korea's nuclear issue, the foreign ministry here said Wednesday. Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha (Yonhap)Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and her Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, met in Geneva earlier in the day (local time) on the sidelines of the U.N. Human Rights Council meeting, according to the ministry. "The two agreed to make diplomatic efforts to maintain th

WASHINGTON -- Joseph Yun, a 30-year veteran of the US foreign service who retained quiet contacts with North Korea amid the Trump administration’s turbulent first year, is retiring as Washington and Pyongyang step up considerations for formal diplomatic talks.Yun told The Associated Press he will stand down as special representative for North Korean policy on Friday. He said his decision to retire is entirely his own but it comes at a surprising juncture, just after American ally South Korea rel

WASHINGTON -- Russia would be acting rationally if it sought to weaken the international sanctions regime against North Korea, a US expert on Korea said Tuesday.Scott Snyder, chief Korea analyst at the Council on Foreign Relations, was commenting on concerns Russia has not been fully enforcing United Nations sanctions against Pyongyang. Russia, a veto-wielding permanent member of the UN Security Council, backed all four resolutions that were adopted last year in response to the North's nuclear a

Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha called for international unity for a peaceful resolution of North Korea's nuclear issue at the Conference on Disarmament held in Geneva, Switzerland on Monday, her ministry said.The conference's high-level session on Tuesday was attended by United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Lassina Zerbo, executive secretary of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization as well as ministers from roughly 30 countries to discuss North Korea's nuclear and

Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha on Monday called on North Korea to abandon its nuclear and missile programs and improve human rights of its people in her keynote speech to the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland. Kang also raised the issue of Japan’s sexual enslavement of Korean women during World War II, saying a controversial 2015 deal between Korea and Japan on “comfort women” lacked a “victim-oriented approach.”“North Korea must heed the call of the international commu

Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha on Monday called on the North Korean regime to improve the human rights of its people during her keynote speech to the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland, her ministry said."North Korea must heed the call of the international community and abandon its nuclear and missile programs. It should invest more of its resources in its people and the protection and promotion of their human rights," Kang said in her speech to the high-level meeting of

South Korean President Moon Jae-in said that the US should lower the bar for talks with North Korea and dialogue between the two countries should begin soon, a day after a top North Korean official said that Pyongyang is willing to hold talks with WashingtonIvanka Trump, US President Donald Trump’s daughter and senior White House adviser, and Kim Yong-chol of the North Korean delegation attend the closing ceremony of the PyeongChang Olympics on Sunday. (Reuters-Yonhap)“The US should lower its ba

BEIJING — China’s ruling Communist Party has proposed scrapping term limits for the country’s president, the official news agency said, appearing to lay the groundwork for party leader Xi Jinping to rule as president beyond 2023.The party’s Central Committee proposed to remove from the constitution the expression that China’s president and vice president “shall serve no more than two consecutive terms,” the Xinhua News Agency said Sunday.“Xi Jinping has finally achieved his ultimate goal when he

The 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics were marked by not only hard-fought competition for medals, but also fierce diplomatic efforts on the sidelines of the sporting event, intent to pave the way for peace on the Korean Peninsula. 　With nuclear-armed North Korea’s participation, the Olympics left behind a legacy of peace and reconciliation for the world after a year of tensions heightened by North Korea’s nuclear and missile tests. 　The momentum for peace began building after North Korean leader

Speculations mounted Sunday over possible interaction between officials from the US and North Korea on the sidelines of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, as North Korea’s delegation includes a specialist on US-North Korea relations. Led by Kim Yong-chul, vice chairman of North Korea’s ruling Workers’ Party Central Committee, the eight-member delegation crossed the inter-Korean border on Sunday to attend the closing ceremony of the Olympics. The North’s delegation includes Choe Kang-il, deputy dir

Although Ivanka Trump may not have any plans to meet any North Koreans, someone else in her team might be gearing up for a meeting with representatives from the reclusive nation.  Allison Hooker, a National Security Council official arrives at Cheong Wa Dae on Friday. (Yonhap)South Korean analysts and media have pinpointed Allison Hooker, a National Security Council official who specializes in Korean affairs as a potential key player in establishing foundations for future US-North Korea talks. H

Ivanka Trump, US President Donald Trump's daughter and a senior adviser to the White House arrived in South Korea on Friday, for a four-day visit to lead the US delegation to the closing ceremony of the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics. Here are some of the photos showing Ivanka's first two days here. Trump arrived at around 4 p.m. here on Friday, and participated in a dinner meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in at Sangchunjae, traditional Korean house inside the presidential office.The Blue

South Korea's first lady Kim Jung-sook and Ivanka Trump, the US president's daughter and senior advisor, watched a snowboarding competition together at the ongoing PyeongChang Winter Olympics on Saturday, a presidential aide here said. Ivanka Trump (left), First Lady Kim Jung-sook, Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha (Yonhap) Ivanka Trump (left), First Lady Kim Jung-sook, Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha (Yonhap)They watched the men's big air final competition at Alpensia Ski Jumping Centre in the no

PYEONGCHANG -- US President Donald Trump’s daughter toured the 2018 Winter Olympics on Saturday, the morning after telling South Korea’s president that she will use her visit to the Pyeongchang Games to advocate maximum pressure on North Korea to halt its nuclear program. Ivanka Trump (left), cheers with Kim Jung-sook, wife of the South Korean President during the men’s Big Air snowboard competition at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Saturday. (AP)Ivanka Trump, who is one o

PYEONGCHANG, South Korea -- The United States will continue to put pressure on North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons program despite a growing mood of reconciliation between the two Koreas, the White House said Saturday."We are going to continue a campaign of maximum pressure, the latest sanctions are the strongest that we have had on North Korea. We are going to continue in that form," White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said at meeting with reporters at Team USA House in Yonpyong Sk